The present invention relates generally to electrical devices and more particularly relates to an apparatus and method for providing a heat sink for a heat generating electrical component.
Electronic components, such as field-effect transistors (FET), are mounted to circuit boards for use in a variety of electrical devices, such as computers. While such electrical devices are becoming more complex, consumers demand ever-smaller sizes for the devices. Accordingly, as the circuit boards become more complex, more electrical components are being forced into smaller and smaller spaces.
However, the electrical components develop heat when used. The heat must be removed from the components for the devices to function without degradation or failure of the device.
One method of removing heat from electrical components is the use of heatsinks attached to the components. For the heatsink to remove heat from the components, the heatsink must be thermally and mechanically coupled to the component. Some electronic components are provided in packages of a standard style, e.g., type TO-220, TO-218, etc. These packages typically include a hole for passing a screw. The screw is used to attach a heat sink to the package. This attachment technique occupies a lot of space on the printed circuit board. The problem is made worse by the fact that many components, such as FETs, are typically clustered together for sharing between them the electrical load. All of them require a heat sink, and therefore each requires a lot of space around it. Accordingly, the cluster of FETs occupies a large area of the circuit board.
Moreover, when the FETs are mounted to a circuit board, a separate heatsink must be screwed to each separate FET and then each of the completed FET/heatsink assemblies is separately mounted to the circuit board. This is a complicated, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process which can cause delays and errors in manufacturing and increase in cost.